Patrick Grady – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Patrick Grady on 2016-06-06.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that UK businesses operating in Colombia respect the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights.

Mr Hugo Swire

The UK National Action Plan on Business and Human Rights sets out how the Government is implementing the UN Guiding Principles. British firms are expected to uphold these principles in their overseas operations, as well as in the UK. It is for each country to implement a National Action Plan to ensure compliance with the Guiding Principles.

We worked closely with the Colombian authorities to develop their National Action Plan, published in December. All companies operating in Colombia, including British ones, should comply with the requirements and guidelines set out in that National Action Plan.

The Minister for Trade and Investment, my noble Friend, the Lord Price of Sturminster Newton, launched a campaign for British businesses to support peace, primarily through respect for human rights, during his visit to Colombia last month. Twenty of the largest British companies operating in Colombia subsequently agreed to align themselves to the Colombian National Action Plan for business and human rights.